


Honest Living

by hirusen



Series: Stories Of Tumblr [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Injury, Crimes & Criminals, Families of Choice, Guns, Language, Organized Crime, POV First Person, POV Third Person, Post-Pandemic, Shooting Guns, Shooting Range, Team as Family, pov switching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:01:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26398315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hirusen/pseuds/hirusen
Summary: The year is 2022. You and your gang shoot down Amazon delivery drones and sell their contents for a living.
Series: Stories Of Tumblr [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1231778
Kudos: 2





	Honest Living

I don't like what we do. I really don't.

After the virus wiped out a third of the global population, and the vaccine was developed to end it, the world as a whole was completely changed. No one ever went outside anymore, or if they did, they had on every form of protective gear you could think of; people fearing that if they interacted with some stranger out in public or in stores, or did so unprotected, that this virus would somehow reemerge or that a deadlier version would appear. Which would be impossible. My buddy, Maxine, told me that the vaccine that had been created actually killed off more than HALF of all known viruses, and the researches have come to the conclusion that any new virus that enters the system of anyone who got the vaccine would almost immediately be killed off before it can start to replicate and spread.

But that's what Maxine says; I'm not too learned on the whole medical science stuff.

Anyway, my group and I were currently scouting the normal paths for new shipments. It was a Thursday, so the latest shipments to this neighborhood would be arriving in about twenty minutes. _"You sure that's the one we're looking for, Ainsley?"_ "Yes, I'm sure. It's the only one that doesn't fit with what's being shipped to the area." There was a huff on the other end of the comms, but that was it. I know Sasha was looking for a bigger haul, the woman always is, but she'll just have to take what we can get for right now.

The time was up and right on cue, eleven Amazon drones flew into view. Counting them out in my head, I found the one we were looking for and I take aim with my sniper, knowing the ground team was already in place. I take a slow breath through my nose and as I slowly let it out my mouth, I pull the trigger. The silencer worked its magic, muting the sound of my shot while also knocking out the drone, watching on as the cargo dead drops towards the ground. Of course, no one hears it impact the ground as it lands safely on the recovery truck, padded with a specially designed fabric to silence any and all sounds upon any object impacting it. Sure, the suspension of the truck creaks rather loudly, but it's never loud enough to draw the attention of anyone inside the houses.

"Let's move out and crack this back at base." There was no arguments from any of the team, and I quickly scale back down the three story house I was nested on after I disassemble my sniper, putting all the pieces back into a case that looked like a normal workman's toolbox. The woman who had called for the cable repairs peaked her head out the side door after my feet touched the ground. "Everything should be in order now, ma'am. If anything else should happen, don't hesitate to call me again." She smiled warmly, hushed a little thank you, and to my surprise handed me 9 hundred dollar bills. The commission for the work I did on the house was only $300. I looked at her in confusion, but she just smiled again and quickly tucked back inside. _"Yo, boss. You gonna keep ogling the poor lady or are you gonna come back?"_ Ah, Travis. Always the sugarcoater.

"Yeah, on my way." I tuck the money into my pocket and jog back to my car, quickly jumping inside and starting it up, guiding the band back to our home base through the back streets (they didn't know all of the shortcuts yet, but Evans and Sarah are learning pretty fast).

* * *

"Hey, hey, Ani, what's up!" I chuckle at the nickname as I greet our best crate cracker Kevin; the man is huge, 7 foot solid and thick muscles everywhere, tattoos on every inch of bare skin--minus his face of course--and so many scars you wonder how he's even alive. It's no wonder why so many clubs and bars LOVED him as a bouncer. But despite his burly appearance, the man is a fucking kitten with a heart of gold and if you don't believe me, then believe the seven cats, nine dogs, four rabbits, two snakes, five ferrets, and the raven he takes care of. It is a MAD HOUSE every time you go to his place, but you'll always leave happy and feeling very loved.

"Oh, is that the score from Innes Street?" I nod and help him unload the cargo along with Sasha's and Crystal's help (these woman can and will crush your skull between their thighs and you will thank them for it). We set it down on the set up and Kevin quickly gets to work. These crates have been reinforced to prevent things like what we're doing to them, plus they're also password protected so you have to hack into them as well after you crack the outer casing. It's a good thing we found Evans before the cops did; the kid is a genius at coding and helped Watcher out with the security systems of all of our homes plus this home base of ours.

Evans was already at his station typing away and I swear on my daughter that you could fall asleep listening to him type. "So what were the other shipments?" "Groceries and clothes, a few books and gaming systems; this one was the only oddity out of the bunch." "What was it marked as?" I let out a sigh. "Pet supplies." Crystal frowns at that. We all know that no one on Innes Street owned pets; none of the places were large enough to house a normal pet, and even if they did, you can now just order your pet supplies with your groceries as they're cataloged under the same section as human food (people are strange, alright? I don't judge people for thinking of their pets as hairy family members, I think of my cat the same way).

A few moments later and the crate is finally cracked open. "Stand back." Kevin warned as he reached for the lid of the crate; Evans was leaning in a little closer--the boy was curious--and I pulled him back just in time as a shrapnel bomb went off, nailing Kevin in several spots. "KEVIN!" "Relax, Evans, he's fine." Sasha told him, and while Evans still looked very concerned his expression turned to confusion when Kevin just busted out laughing. "Oh, that's a good one! I didn't think they'd put it in the top!" I let out a sigh and text Angel; she was always patching us up after she was forced to leave the medical industry.

Angel got caught up in a huge scandal and was forced to "formally" resign from any and all medical practices. So what she does for us is illegal, but she doesn't care. "Angel will be here in 15. Do you want to see what's in this one, or just lie down?" "I wanna see. The top bomb is new, which means this is a different supplier. Wanna see their goods." Kevin stated and I nodded; you don't bother trying to change Kevin's mind as, once he decides to do something, you just gotta let him do it. Kevin reached for the lid again and fully pulled it off, revealing the inner crate, and I hear sounds of amazement from Evans and Sarah as he takes the metal inner lid into his hands and simply rips it off like it was tissue paper.

"Ah...fuck..." I mutter when I see the goods inside.

See, my group and I are vigilantes if you will. With Watcher's help, we shoot down "Amazon" drones and steal their cargo. The drones actually belong to a dangerous corporation called Apexal Market, or Apexmart for short. Apexmart was an sudden organization that quickly rose to power in silence during the global pandemic that left the world in the state it is now, and they now OWN Amazon, using their drones to ship all sorts of goods, legal or other wise. This one, for example, was holding several types of military grade guns and ammunition, as well as prescription level drugs, all forms of illegal drugs, and...

"Are those...organ boxes?" Sasha asked as she peaked a little bit closer inside. "I can check for you." We all turn around to the new voice, Sarah and Evans smiling as they ran up to Angel, both giving her a tight hug. "It'd be appreciated." Angel was a rather small woman, only 4' 11", so she gets mistaken for a teenager all the time. Of course, people quickly realize their mistake when she out schools them with advanced medical knowledge and even offers advice on how to improve the healing process for any injury the person may have. Once the teens let her go, she strides over and instantly frowns. "Yeah, those are the boxes we used for organ transportation..." She glanced over to Kevin then.

Kevin gave her a warm smile, waving, as blood dribbled down from his shrapnel injuries. "Hi, Angel!"

Angel just sighed.

"Come on, you doofus. I'm gonna have to give you stitches." Kevin frowned. "But, it didn't hit anything important." "And you should be lucky it didn't!" Angel barked, quickly gaining her composure. "I need to stitch up not only your skin but the muscle as well; biodegradable stitches and it's only to help with the healing process." Kevin pouted but nodded his head and the duo walked off.

"You think they'll be any buyers for the organs?" I hear Travis ask and I honestly didn't know, so I pulled out my phone and, like usual, I get a call from Watcher before I even start scrolling through my contacts. "You do know I hate when you do that, right?" A soft voice giggled on the other end. _"I know, but I like seeing you frustrated sometimes."_ I couldn't help but laugh as well. "So, what do you think?" There was typing on the other side along with some soft humming. _"...No. No one's looking or buying organs right now. Do you want me to call a friend to help get rid of the organs?"_ "Sure. Not like we can do anything with them." Watcher sighed. "...I know you don't like seeing Kevin get hurt, none of us do." _"I feel bad for Evans; kid's never been on site when you crack before._

 _"And there's also the fact that Angel actually lost a little weight."_ "Really?" I ask, glancing back to where Angel was currently patching Kevin up, a flicker of a smile on my face as I see Sarah and Evans harass Kevin as he gets patched up. _"It's not a lot, but I see about a 4 pound loss in total weight. Could be stress, but I would ask her if she's ok after Kevin's taken care of."_ I let a moment of silence pass before saying, "You do know you're always welcomed to come here or to one of our homes if you need something, Watcher." I glance at the location I know one of the cameras is and I'm greeted with only faint breathing. _"...I'm gonna go make that call now. Later, Ainsley."_ And Watcher hung up.

We were a rather large group of 17 active people, and 5 non-active people. Watcher is one of the non-active people, never coming with us in person to help with scouting, or hunting and retrieval, but DOES help us on the technical side; things like tracking, letting us know of any recent activities in the areas we're going to be scouting, warning us if cops are heading our way, keeping an eye on the security of this home base and all of our homes, things like that. Evans is what we call a flipped, someone who is either an active people or a non-active people depending on what we need covered; Sarah and Kevin are also part of this group. And then you have Travis, Angel, Sasha, Crystal, and myself who are all active people; we're the ones who go out and do all of the dangerous tasks of scouting, hunting and retrieval.

You would think that Kevin had the most dangerous job, being our lead crate cracker, but in truth being out and about is the most dangerous part of what we do. We've made a lot of enemies by doing this, and a few of us have been hospitalized a few times before; and what makes it worse is that some of us, like myself, have a family we have to get back to. It's why we have so many players, it's why I've recruited the best people for the jobs we need filled.

I've got to make sure that everybody gets back home alive.


End file.
